


To Raise the Dead

by Noteventhat (Facialteeth)



Series: Halloween Fics [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Broken Bones, Childhood Mischief, Counsel Alec Lightwood, Eventual Happy Ending, Explosions, Family Fluff, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Halloween, Happy Ending, Idris (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Idris Celebrates Halloween for the First Time, Lightwood Siblings Feels, Living Corpses, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Post-Canon, Spells Gone Wrong, Teenage Madzie, Teenage Max Lightwood, Warlock Magnus Bane, halloween fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-11-26 20:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20936552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Facialteeth/pseuds/Noteventhat
Summary: It was the first Halloween that Idris was celebrating, so of course, Max and Madzie had a plan to cause a little bit of trouble. In hindsight, perhaps they'd bitten off a bit too much to swallow.





	1. Chapter 1

Halloween had notoriously been a Downworlder tradition. The only way Shadowhunters had taken part for centuries had been hunting for demons the night of. The culture in Idris had changed though and with Magnus as the High Warlock, his brother as the Counsel and more downworlders living in their walls than ever before, Halloween was a holiday that the city had decided to celebrate, much to the disapproval of all the older Clave members. 

The cobble lined streets had been decorated with orange lights, pumpkins and skeletons. Even the infamous statue of the angel Raziel had been adorned with pumpkins around the base and a huge almost demonic sized spider who sat in a web that stretched off one of the wings and onto a lamp pole across the street.

The older members of the city shook their heads and murmured about how their city was falling apart but everyone else seemed just as excited to join in the holiday as the Downworld was to share it with them. 

Alec and Magnus were throwing a Halloween party that was sure to put every other Halloween party across the world to shame. Magnus had been talking about it for weeks. It wasn’t often he got to throw parties now, not with he and Alec both holding such demanding jobs in a time when their positions were as important as ever.

Their house, located close to the center of town, had been decorated enough that it was hardly recognizable. The traditional, modest style that seemed to encompass all of the buildings in Idris turned out to be perfect for Halloween, as long as Magnus used a glamour or two to make the windows of their home look broken and to make the exterior look like it was crumbling. There were even ghosts that swarmed above the house, circling, moaning and darting down close to anyone who dared to walk up to the door.

Max walked up the pathway to his brother’s house, shooing the fake ghosts away as he quietly pulled the front door open. It was always a gamble walking into their house unannounced. Normally, Magnus could tell someone was there instantly but there had been quite a few times he’d been distracted and Max had walked in to see something he wished he hadn’t.

Today though, Max was hoping he could slip in and out without either of them noticing he’d been there. See, he and his friends had a plan for tonight, something that involved more than just dressing up and eating candy. Tonight, they were going to let the dead fall on this city and Max needed his brother’s stele to do that. 

Max paused in the hallway, listening. The house was completely silent. Max had thought they might be out and he was thrilled to see he was right. Them being going was much better than them being distracted. Max had heard his brother moan enough for a lifetime. 

Max darted down the hallway, his footsteps loud as he pushed his brother’s study door open and went inside. He pulled his desk drawer open and pushed all the pens and paper aside, searching for what he knew his brother kept in here somewhere. Max found his brother’s extra stele at the bottom of the last drawer, hidden quite well for anyone except Max who knew exactly how his brother liked to hide things. 

Max slipped it into his pocket and closed the drawers, practically darting out of the room. He’d told Madzie and Benny that he’d meet them soon and he was going to be late if he didn’t hurry. 

Max pushed open the study door once again and almost ran into Magnus’ chest in his haste to get out before anyone noticed him. Magnus blinked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at him. “Good morning, Max.” 

Max stared up at him with wide eyes, taking a step back. “Morning, Magnus.” He said, suddenly deeply aware of his brother’s stele half sticking out of his pant pocket. He’d have pushed it deeper if he’d known anyone was home. His hand twitched to move and grab it but he forced himself not to. Maybe, Magnus wouldn't notice. “Happy Halloween.” He said, trying to appear as casual as he possibly could. 

“Happy Halloween.” Magnus echoed, his eyes scanning Max suspiciously. For a moment, Max thought he’d seen the stele and somehow known which one it was but then he met Max’s eyes again. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you but can I ask what you were looking for in your brother’s study?” 

Max shrugged, moving to walk past Magnus into the kitchen. “I was just looking for Alec.” He called behind him, hoping Magnus took his actions as casual and not as him fleeing, like he was. 

Magnus hummed behind him. “Oh.” 

Max walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple off the cauldron on the table. Their new cat, Chairman, darted between Max’s feet and down the hallway. He was dressed in a bat costume and he seemed less than thrilled about it. 

For a moment, Max thought Magnus actually believed him and then his brother in law kept speaking. “You were looking for him in his drawers?” He asked.

Max sucked in a deep breath. Fuck. He took a bite of the apple, turning to look at Magnus as he chewed. He pulled his shirt down before he did, covering the stele in his pocket. “Yeah.” He said, swallowing. “I was looking for him in his drawer.” 

Magnus nodded slowly like he’d actually accepted the ridiculous answer. “I suppose the stele you took was just a bonus?” Magnus asked finally, a small knowing smirk on his lips. 

Max could get away with a lot around Alec. Alec still underestimated him, in the way that an older sibling always seemed to when they didn’t want to realize the younger sibling was growing up. Magnus didn’t underestimate him at all. 

Max nodded. He took another bite of the apple, chewing because he couldn't think of anything at all to say. Magnus raised an eyebrow but Max took his time, chewing thoroughly before swallowing. It would be a shame if he choked.

“I lost mine.” He said suddenly. “I didn’t want to go ask for another. Madzie and I are supposed to meet soon.” 

Magnus nodded slowly but Max could tell Magnus didn’t exactly believe him. Max held his breath. That was the cool thing about having Magnus as a brother, even when he knew Max was lying, he wouldn’t blow his cover unless he thought Max was actually going to do something horrible. Magnus had been a kid once and a mischievous adult for far longer than that. 

It was Halloween, he wouldn’t ruin their fun unless he thought he had to. “I suppose you won’t mind if I let your brother know you took it then?” He said eventually.

Max shrugged. “Of course not.” He said easily. “You don’t think I’m lying, do you?” 

Magnus pressed his lips together. He moved to pull his coffee cup off the counter where he must have left it to go see what Max was doing. “Don’t cause too much trouble.” Magnus said finally. “It is the first Halloween we’re having here. We wouldn’t want to give the Clave a heart attack just yet.” 

Max grinned. “Of course, not too much.” He repeated. 

Magnus smiled back for a moment and then Max gave in and darted forward, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ chest to hug him tight for a moment. “Happy Halloween, Magnus.” He murmured into the silk of Magnus’ sleep shirt. Max pulled away after a moment and darted towards the front door. “Bye!” He called over his shoulder, the door slamming behind him as he ran down the steps. A ghost moved above his head but Max ran out the gate and down the street before it could move down to chase him. 

They were going to do something so much cooler than that.

Max took Alec’s stele out of his pocket and lit the agility rune on his arm before jumping to grab the frame of the window before him to pull himself up. Alec’s stele didn’t do anything different than his when it came to lighting runes but the superiority of Alec’s felt better in his hand. Max was only fourteen. His stele was a normal beginner's stele. It could light runes, unlock average doors and that was about it. Alec’s stele could do just about anything.

Max wanted one of his own someday, one that he’d been given rather than one he’d stolen. Alec said if he really wanted to have one, he’d have to start following the rules. Max reminded Alec that he kissed a warlock at his wedding, in front of the entire Clave. He couldn’t really talk, could he?

Besides, Max was fourteen. He could have some fun stealing before he grew up. 

Max scaled the side of the building and pulled him over the edge onto the roof. Madzie sat waiting for him, Benny sitting next to her side. “You’re late.” She called over, turning to look at him with a half disapproving gaze. Behind it, she couldn’t quite hide her excitement. 

Max grinned and stood up, brushing the dirt off his arms. “Magnus caught me taking Alec’s stele.” He explained, moving forward to peer down at the book both of his friends were staring at. 

Benny was a werewolf that had moved here recently with his mom. They’d become fast friends after Max pushed Jamie, the _ worst _ kid in their town, into a fountain for making fun of him.

He was a nervous kid. He wasn’t quite as mischievous as Max and Madzie were, nor was he as fearless in the face of trouble but he was nice and peer pressure or not, he was willing to help with their insane plans. 

“Did he get mad?” Benny asked, wringing his hands in his lap. He had only met Magnus twice and he hadn’t quite seen past Magnus’ intimidating exterior yet. 

“No.” Max sat on the roof, not caring that black soot was smudging across his hands and now, his pants. “He said not to cause too much trouble.” 

Madzie hummed. “I don’t think this is too much trouble.” She said, her eyes still scanning the book in her lap (it was also stolen but it really wasn’t their fault that they had to steal everything. If the adults would just let them use what they wanted, they wouldn’t have to steal it).

“Me either,” Max said, shrugging. “It’s Halloween after all.” 

Benny stayed silent but Max chose to assume he agreed. 

There wasn’t anything about conjuring spirits in the book Madzie had taken. That was probably why no one had noticed they’d taken it. It was a simple book with nothing that harmful in it but Magnus had told them all about how even the most simple spells could be used for almost anything if you knew how to use them right. If you had a spell for conjuring energy, you could use it to draw in just about any kind of energy you wanted, into anything you wanted. If you had a spell for opening doors, you could use it to open portals into different dimensions.

If you had, for example, a spell on conjuring magical creatures, you could use it to conjure spirits if you knew how to shift the intent towards the dead. Just for example's sake, of course.

“What else do we need?” Max asked, peering over Madzie’s shoulder. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, one she’d used to scribble down the ingredients to summon spirits. They couldn’t have taken the Book of the Dead out of Magnus’ office. He’d have noticed right away and that he would have put a stop to but that didn’t mean they couldn’t look and write something down. 

“Vampire venom-” Madzie read off the list, “Dried Hemp Leaves, Vampire Dust-”

“Lots of vampire ingredients,” Benny commented quietly. He was scared of vampires.

“They’re dead. Makes sense.” Max said, shrugging.

Madzie kept reading without looking at them, “Blood of a child-”

“Not it.” Max called instantly. Benny glared over at him, murmuring about how maybe werewolf blood wouldn’t work. “Maybe, Shadowhunter blood won’t work either.” Max spat back. It would have been nice if they could have asked Magnus if it mattered but it wasn’t like they could just run it by him. 

Madzie kept reading the rest of the list without reading it out loud to them. “We have most of these. We just need blood, vampire venom and northwind root.” 

“Awesome,” Max said, pulling himself to his feet. “We can get most of that at the apothecary in town. Alec’s stele will let us in.” 

“What if she’s still there?” Benny asked nervously. Max didn’t have to ask him who he was talking about. The warlock that ran the Idris apothecary was notoriously grumpy and she did not like them at all. She refused to sell to them unless they came in with an adult. It wasn’t a law or a rule: It was simply something she decided to put a halt on almost every single plan they had. 

“The shop is closed today,” Max said. Madzie closed the book and pushed it into her bag, rising to her feet as well. “Hopefully, she’ll be gone.” Max said shrugging, reaching out to help Benny to his feet. Luck should be on their side. There was no reason she’d still be there today. 

When they actually got there, they realized that luck was not on their side. 

“What do we do now?” Benny hissed, his back pressed against the brick wall to stop Cydney, the warlock, from looking out the window and seeing him. 

“Shush.” Max hissed, though it was more to give him a moment to think than actually thinking Benny was going to get them caught. “Uh-” Max met Madzie’s eyes, both of them scrambling to try and think of a plan. It was a stupid way for this all to end but if they couldn’t get in there and get the rest of the ingredients, their plan was over. “Knock on the door.” Max said suddenly, spinning to look at Benny. 

“What?” He snapped, his eyes wide and panicked. 

Max nodded. “Yeah, it will be fine. Just knock on the door and make something up. Say you need help. Madzie and I will sneak in the back, grab the supplies and sneak out.”

Benny shook his head no instantly, “Max, I can’t. I don’t know what to say, I can’t-” 

Max nodded. “It’s easy.” He insisted, ignoring Benny’s clear panic. “Magnus always says sometimes you have to do things that scare you.” Max darted forward, knocking sharply on the door to the shop. “You’ll be fine, give us two minutes inside and we’ll meet you right here again.” 

Max grabbed Madzie’s arm and pulled her around the corner of the building, leaving Benny alone as they heard the front door open. “What do you want?” They heard Cydney snap before they rounded the building again and were out of earshot. 

Max scrawled an unlock rune on the door and pulled Madzie inside the back room of the shop. Inside, they could hear Benny rambling something about his mother needing supplies. “You find the root, I’ll find the venom.” Max whispered, turning to scan the shelves. 

Madzie closed her eyes for a moment and her hands glowed briefly. The gills on her neck flared and when she opened her eyes, she darted across the room out of sight. Max wanted to ask when she’d learned to do that but it wasn’t really the best time. 

“I know but she told me to come and-“ They needed to hurry. Cydney was growing more and more frustrated as Benny repeated himself yet again. 

Max scanned the shelves quicker but half of them were unlabeled and of the ones that were labeled, half of them seemed to be in another language that Max didn’t recognize. 

Madzie appeared at Max’s side a moment later, three tangles of roots held in her hands. “Do the thing-“ Max hissed quickly, looking back to make sure Cydney was still standing outside of the store. “They’re not labeled. What does vampire venom even look like?” 

“Like venom!” Madzie snapped helpfully. She shoved the root into Max’s hands and closed her eyes again, doing the same thing she’d done moments before to find the root. 

When she opened her eyes though, she didn’t look relieved, she looked panicked. “It’s not working right, it’s saying it’s-“ 

Max hadn’t been sure what she was going to say but as the voice spoke from the open doorway, the same one they’d slipped through behind the shop, he put it together. 

The spell wasn’t working because it was saying there was venom was outside. “Hey, kids. Stealing on Halloween?” Lily Chen, leader of the New York Vampire Clan stood in the doorway, smirking like she’d caught them doing something they weren’t supposed to. Which, she had. 

Max’s eyes flashed to the front door again. Cydney still hadn’t looked back but she looked like she was about to slam the door in Benny’s face. Max darted towards Lily and half pulled, half pushed her out the door. “Come on.” He hissed towards Madzie. Max saw her look towards the shelves again, her hand snapping out at the last second to pull a small bottle off the shelf and shove it into her pocket. 

Max wouldn’t have been able to push Lily out the door if she hadn’t wanted to move but luckily, she stepped outside and watched calmly as Madzie slipped the door closed behind them. 

“Did I hear you asking what vampire venom looks like?” Lily asked finally. “Shouldn’t they teach you that in all your Shadowhunter classes?” 

“They- I haven’t taken Downworlder Studies yet,” Max admitted. “Please don’t tell Magnus.” He spit out. He wasn’t going to beg her but he was sure she could hear how desperate he was in his voice. 

Lily blinked slowly. “I’m not going to tell him.” She said easily. “It’s not my job to babysit for Magnus.” Max breathed out a sigh of relief. “I would, however-“ Lily continued. “-be inclined to tell Alec what you were doing. I owe him and this would make us even.” The relief on Max’s face disappeared so quickly that it almost looked like Lily has slapped him. “So, what is it that you’re doing?” She asked chipperly.

Madzie and Max both fell silent for a moment.

“Group project?” Madzie offered almost at the same time that Max said, “We’re conjuring spirits.” Madzie turned and gave him a disbelieving look. Clearly, they hadn’t been on the same page. 

“And… you’re trying to conjure spirits why?” Lily asked. 

Max shrugged. “Harmless Halloween fun?” He offered. 

“Life experience?” Madzie chimed in. 

“The thrill of accomplishing something?” 

They probably would have gone on but at that moment, Benny came running around the corner of the building. His face was flushed and panicked. “Why would you do that?” He snapped, his voice coming out through harsh breath. “I had no clue what to say, I just told her that my mom-” Benny cut himself off as he noticed Lily for the first time. He stumbled backward a step or two. “Is that a vampire?” 

It was kind of cute how new to all of this he was. He’d been bitten by a young werewolf in some small town in Kansas and now, he was here way out of his depth.

“This is Lily Chen,” Madzie told him. “She runs the New York Vampire Clan and she just caught us stealing.” That didn’t seem to make Benny feel better. 

“She might tell Alec on us.” Max said for the sake of being completely honest. That didn’t seem to make him feel better either.

Lily looked at Benny and then sighed, looking back towards Madzie and Max again. “I won’t tell on you.” She said finally. “Only spirits, right? If you end up raising the dead and killing half the town, Alec is going to be so pissed at me.” 

Madzie nodded. “Only spirits.” She confirmed. Everyone knew spirits were harmless. They were even more harmless than ghosts. 

Lily watched them for a moment and then finally, she laughed. “Alright, have fun kids.” She turned like she was about to walk away before she hesitated for a moment. She turned back to look at all three of them in turn before speaking, her voice low and serious, “If this goes terribly wrong, I never saw you. Got it?” 

They all nodded and then she was gone. 

Magnus was standing in his kitchen, stringing up some last-minute decorations when he heard his phone go off. He sighed and with a snap of his fingers, it appeared in front of him so he could read it. It was text from a particularly grumpy warlock he knew lived in town. 

‘Your children just stole from me.’ It read, ‘Again.’ 

Magnus took a deep breath. 

‘I’ll pay for it.’ He wrote back quickly. ‘-but they’re not my children.’ He added as an afterthought. He had the feeling he didn’t want to be connected to whatever they were doing tonight. 

“Alexander?” Magnus called over his shoulder. He could hear his husband wrestling with some plastic cobwebs behind him. “Did I mention that I saw your brother this morning?”

Alec hummed curiously. “No, did he need something?” 

Magnus slowly dropped the decorations he was holding to the ground. He spun on his heel and pursed his lips for a moment. “Well-” Magnus clasped his hands in front of him. “He did happen to take the stele from your desk.” 

Alec looked up at him, his hands a mess of plastic. It almost looked like he was tangling them more than managing to stretch them out. “Oh?” He asked slowly. 

“Yeah-” Magnus smiled, trying to be reassuring. “-and I’m sure it’s nothing but Cydney did just text me that they took a few things without permission.”

For a moment, it almost looked like Alec was going to throw up. “Oh, god.” He choked out. 

Magnus darted forward, his hands coming to rest on his husband’s comfortingly. The sentiment was a little useless because Alec’s hands were covered in a thick layer of web but Magnus hoped Alec was comforted regardless. “They took Catarina’s spellbook. There’s nothing bad in there. I’m sure they’re just-” Magnus shrugged. “-having some Halloween fun. There’s no reason to panic.” 

“They’re going to derune him.” Alec moaned, leaning forward to curl into his husband’s neck. 

Magnus sighed. “Come on,” He murmured. “If the Clave could deal with Jace and you, I’m sure they can deal with Max too. They’re used to you Lightwoods.”

“Jace and I didn’t steal from the City of the Dead.” Alec rushed out. “We didn’t sneak into Clave meetings. We didn’t skip our classes to summon demons-” 

Their little group was making quite a name for themselves. Magnus purses his lips for a moment, choosing a different route. “Exactly-” He stated, tipping his husband’s worried face up to meet his. “They’ve done a lot already. This is Halloween. This is probably going to be the most harmless thing they’ve ever done.”

Alec didn’t look too sure. 

“Come on.” Magnus gently pulled the webs from his husband’s hands. “Let’s give these a break. Come help me hang some lights. What do you think would look better, purple or orange?” 

Alec followed Magnus slowly over to the counter where he had the lights stretched out. “Purple?” He said softly. 

Magnus had been thinking orange but he didn’t say so. “Purple would look lovely. Though, where should we put the orange lights?” Magnus pondered for a moment, watching his husband's eyes look around the space. 

“Maybe-”

Magnus snapped his fingers before Alec could finish speaking. The orange lights disappeared and then found their way around his husband’s shoulders, wrapping around his biceps and glimmering in his hair. Magnus smiled. “Perfect.” 

Magnus turned away to grab the plastic spider’s he’d put down and behind him, Alec burst out laughing as he struggled to move towards him.

“Magnus!” 

Magnus smiled and spun around, humming contemplatively as he placed a plastic spider across Alec’s hairline. “Now, it’s really perfect.” He murmured, leaning in to kiss his husband’s soft, smiling lips. 

Max darted in front of Benny and Madzie to perch himself on a rock and peer out at the dark path in front of them. The witchlight glowed in his hand, lightly the pathway in pale hues of white. Benny’s flashlight flashed forward, lighting the path for at least another ten feet. “Why do you use that rock when it hardly even works?” 

Max dropped to the ground. “Electronics won’t work as we get closer to the wards.” 

“But they work now.” Benny pointed out. Max stayed silent for a moment before he dropped the witchlight into his pocket. After a few steps, Benny handed over the flashlight and let Max hold it for the rest of the walk. 

They were walking to the outskirts of the city, where hopefully no one would interrupt them. Everyone was excited to take part in the history that was happening tonight, except those who were distinctly not. As the sky grew darker, the elders went inside and the new generation of the world came out to play. 

It was surprisingly hard to find some privacy in all the excitement, especially enough so to try and raise some spirits. 

They were almost to the clearing they were heading to when Benny spoke again. “Guys, what if we get into trouble?” Behind him, Madzie sighed. 

“You didn’t have to come.” Max chimed in, look back at Benny’s nervous stance behind him. “We told you you could have just gone home.” 

Benny swallowed. “No.” He insisted quickly. “I wanted to come.” 

He didn’t want to come. Max knew he wanted to stay home. He came because he didn’t want to be left out. He came because he didn’t want them to exclude him, next time. 

Max shrugged. “Alright.” He said easily, turning back to look at the path. “Then if we get in trouble, remember it was your choice.” Max looked back one more time and winked. 

Benny didn’t answer but when Madzie laughed, he smiled half sincere, half nervous all at once. Max wondered briefly if he regretted becoming friends with them and then he pushed that thought away. Of course, he didn’t. They were awesome. 

When they reached the clearing, Madzie pulled out the spellbook and started to arrange the ingredients they'd collected. This was going to be the easy part. The spell wasn’t hard. They’d gotten all the ingredients and made it here. They were, for all intents and purposes, in the clear. Until after of course. If no one had a sense of humor, they could be grounded for the rest of the month but tonight, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong. 

After this, it was smooth sailing and nothing but Halloween fun. If Max was being honest though, he’d been having fun the whole time. He loved sneaking around. He loved stealing. He loved knowing no one else knew what they were up to. He loved being with his friends while he did it. 

Max laid sprawled in the grass with his head pillowed on Benny’s lap, watching Madzie fiddle with all the ingredients. Max was a little tired but more than that, he was content. The stars were bright in the sky. Benny’s legs were soft under his head and his hands were warm where they rested almost in his hair. 

He listened to the sound of the werewolves far off in the forest, Benny’s soft breathing, the smell of the vampire venom singeing the air as Madzie opened the bottle and he wanted more than anything to stay in this moment forever. 

Next month, he was going to the Academy. He’d finished all his training here and he had no choice but to go. He wouldn’t be back for almost a full year, unless Alec brought him home for a weekend or two. People normally didn’t leave the Academy though. You stayed and you studied and you missed your friends and family until you were done.

Madzie and Benny would stay here and Max would be all alone, surrounded by Shadowhunters his age who’d probably love nothing more than to kick his friends out of their country. 

Alec said he’d make new friends there and that Madzie and Benny would still be here when he came back but the truth was, Max didn’t want to make new friends. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want Madzie and Benny to have fun without him. He didn’t want them to forget him. 

Maybe, that’s why he’d wanted to do this so bad. It was one last big thing they could do together so that maybe they wouldn’t forget him while he was gone. 

Max opened his eyes, startled when Madzie threw a rock near his face. “You’re not going to fall asleep, are you? After this, we still have all night.” 

“Of course not! I was just-” Max shook his head and sat up. He knew he’d have to tell them he was leaving at some point but why would he ruin the rest of tonight by bringing it up? He’d tell them tomorrow or... maybe the day after, if they weren’t all locked inside. “Are you ready?” He asked instead. 

Madzie nodded. “Yeah.” She said, looking up between both of them. “The only thing we need is blood.” 

“I did call not it.” Max said, glancing over at Benny. 

Benny took in a slow, deep breath. Quietly, he said, “I am not giving you my blood for this. I don’t like blood. I don’t like seeing it. I don’t like being hurt. This wasn’t even my idea!” He insisted, his voice rising as he spoke. “There is absolutely no way I’m doing. I’m not.” 

Max nodded slowly. “Okay. Let’s just talk about this. There has to be a fair way to do this.” The talk was a short one.

Benny finched as Madzie drew the knife across his palm. His free hand tensed in Max’s, clutching it like he thought if he let go Madzie was going to slip and cut his arm off. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.” He whispered, his voice hushed and panicked. 

“You’re doing great.” Max said back, trying to be encouraging. 

Madzie dropped his hand and when Benny looked over, he gasped and paled at the sight of the blood. For a moment, Max almost thought he was going to pass out. “Look.” He said, tightening his hand on Benny’s uninjured one. “Look at it- watch.” 

Benny looked hesitantly, his face scrunched up in disgust. The wound was deep across his hand, dripping slowly into the grass. They all stared and after a moment, the wound came back together and healed itself as if it had never even been cut open. 

Max clapped the back of Benny’s shoulder. “See? It’s cool, huh?” 

Benny went silent for a moment, his eyes wide with fascination. “I didn’t know that could happen.” He whispered. 

Max laughed. “Perks of being a Downworlder. I have to use a stupid rune.” Max took Benny’s other hand and wiped the excess blood against the fabric of his pants. There was no more putting it off. They were ready and the moment Benny seemed to realize this, the fascination faded off his face and he looked worried once again. 

Max didn’t let go of his hand. “Come on, let’s do this.” He said, pulling Benny to his feet. It was cold and Benny’s hand was warm in his. Werewolves ran hot and Max had never appreciated that fact more. Of course, he could have put a rune on that would have warmed him far more efficiently than Benny’s small hand would but Max didn’t. He wasn’t quite sure why.

The thing about spells is that the build-up is always ten times longer than the actual spell itself. The spell was easy and quick. It was the preparation that took forever. They’d been planning this for weeks but in the end, it took about a minute for Madzie to do the spell.

Benny and Max stood behind her, squirming with separate parts anxiety and excitement. As Madzie read the spell off, her hands glowing, Max felt Benny tighten in his. Max wondered if he was excited, even a little bit. He wondered if he was a little more thrilled about doing this than he let on. He had to be, right? Or he wouldn’t be here. 

Madzie spoke the last words of the spell and for a few short moments, everything was silent. Max could still hear the werewolves far off in the woods. He could hear the trees swaying around them. He thought he could almost hear the noise of the city, as faint as the wind.

He didn’t hear any spirits. Benny’s hand loosened in his. Max wondered if he was relieved or disappointed. Max had just opened his mouth to ask aloud if they’d done it wrong when he felt it. 

For a second, Max thought the wind had simply swept through the field they were in but as the hairs on the back of his arms stood up and his skin tingled, Max realized that it wasn’t the wind he was feeling, it was magic. 

An excited grin stretched across Max’s face. Madzie pulled herself to her feet are looking around them, waiting for the spirits they’d called to this place to burst into the air. That second went on though and as nothing happened, the grin slowly faded from Max’s face. 

“Is that-” Max wasn’t sure what Benny had been about to say. Maybe, he’d seen something Max hadn’t. Maybe, he’d been about to ask what exactly a spirit would look like. Before he could finish his sentence, the ground under them exploded and they were all thrown back in a mess of dirt.

Max landed hard on the ground, his head cracking against the cold earth beneath him. The stele in his pocket stabbed deep into his side as he landed. Cold pain blossomed across his chest. Benny’s hand was gone from his. 

Max tried to force himself sit up but everything hurt and the world was spinning so much that he could hardly see. Dirt fell onto his face as softly as rain. Max found himself flat on his back, staring up at the stars. Blood trickled from his side and his head but Max didn’t even notice. 

Someone was screaming so faintly that Max couldn’t even make out the words. His ears were ringing loud. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong but Max found it very hard to try to concentrate. It was Halloween. A field. A spell. They’d been doing something fun but Max couldn’t remember what it had been.

The thought was fleeting and Max found it very hard to cling to it. It was Halloween, Madzie holding a book, Benny’s hand- 

Max remembered sitting on the roof of the Institute with Alec when he’d been little. He couldn’t have been more than six. He and Alec were supposed to be in bed but whenever he couldn’t sleep, Alec would take him onto the roof and they’d lay down at watch the stars together until they got tired. 

Max remembered falling asleep on the roof and waking up in his bed more times than he could count. Their mother would have been furious. They were too young to be out of bed. They were too young to be on the roof alone. They were too young to be up so late. 

Staring up at the sky, Max wondered if she ever knew that they did that. For a moment, Max felt like he was six again. He could feel the groves of the shingles digging into his back. He could see the dart soot on his hands. He could hear Alec’s breath next to him. He could feel his brother’s big warm arm around him and he could see the stars, shining so bright that he thought they might blind him. 

Max closed his eyes and he knew that when he woke up, the soot would be washed from his hands and he would be in his bed, tucked in the way only Alec ever did.

Someone was screaming but Max couldn’t hear them. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madzie, Max and Benny deal with the aftermath of what they've done and the unforeseen consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is huge. I'd apologize but it was so fun to write, I can't even.

Madzie landed on the ground, managing to use her magic at the last second to soften her fall. She hit the ground and skid back a few feet, feeling the rocks and roots under her dig into her skin, tearing it up and shoving its way under her fingernails and into her palms. She landed on bloody elbows in a mess of dirt and in an instant, she threw herself to her feet and was standing again. 

It had been stupid to do this at night. Everything was so dark she could hardly even see in front of her. Madzie could hear the wind whirling around her, unnaturally loud and harsh against her skin. She could hear something in the ground quaking in the aftermath of the explosion (and what the hell had that been about?). After a moment, she could hear someone screaming too.

It took a moment for her to even recognize who it was. She had never heard Benny scream like that before. She had heard people scream like that before but not for years, not since before Magnus had taken her from Valentine. She had only heard people scream with that much terror in their voices right before they died or when they thought they were going to.

Madzie ran blindly into the dark, towards that awful sound. Magic cracked in her hands, struggling to find its way out of her bloodied palms to light the path in front of her. She’d done it more times than she could count. Light had been one of the first things Catarina and her had gone over, even though she’d basically had it down already. It was easy. It was simple. It was a useful thing to know how to do but suddenly, Madzie couldn’t get her body to do it. 

She was shaking too much. She was scared. She gave up and ran through the dark as fearlessly as if it had worked and she could see everything before her. When she reached Benny, she nearly tumbled over his lumped form on the ground. She was lucky she’d found him instead of a tree. 

He screamed louder before he seemed to realize who she was and his screams broke off into terrified whimpers. He sounded like a wounded animal, scared and betrayed. 

Madzie crouched next to him, struggling to see him in the dark. 

There was someone on the other side of him, Max she assumed, but he didn’t move forward to help. He just stood there limp in the dark, watching. If Madzie had looked a little closer, she might have been able to see that something was horribly wrong in Max’s stance. If she’d strained to listen over the wind and Benny’s whining, she might have heard the choking, whimpering noise coming from the creature. She might have known that it wasn’t Max at all but her focus was on Benny and she didn’t notice any of it yet.

Madzie asked if he was okay, just as her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw that he wasn’t. “My arm-” Benny choked out but Madzie was already looking at his arm. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of it. It was broken but it wasn’t just broken. It was broken so badly that his arm was twisted, bent in a way it never should have been, healing in that horrible grotesque shape.

It looked so wrong attached to Benny’s soft, fragile face. She and Max had never spoken about it out loud but they were supposed to protect Benny from stuff like that. He didn’t grow up like them. He didn’t grow up in blood and angelic power. He didn’t grow up watching people die. He’d been in middle school before this, a mundane one where they learned things like math and science, things that seemed almost laughable to people like them, here.

What was it Max had said earlier? ‘_ Perks of being a downworlder _’- Well, now he’d have to have his arm broken again to set it right, probably multiple times. Benny had never broken a bone before. He’d never really gotten hurt before, expect the night he’d been attacked. 

Now it had happened for the first time because of her. Madzie grabbed Benny’s uninjured arm and tried to pull him to his feet, finally looking over to Max as she did. She snapped before her eyes even settled on him. “Max, help me! We have to go-” She’d been about to say they had to go back to town when she finally saw what had been standing next to them the whole time. 

Benny’s breath hitched in his throat as he saw it too and suddenly, he was screaming again. He scrambled backward, his hand ripping from Madzie’s as he struggled to back up. “Madzie! Madzie-” He managed to make it to his feet and he grabbed Madzie’s hand again, pulling her back. 

Madzie had just assumed it was Max because he was the only other person out there with them but she’d been very wrong. The thing next to them hadn’t been Max at all. Madzie stumbled backwards, her hand clutching Benny’s, her eyes looking back at the creature when suddenly, Benny jolted back, slamming into her. “MADZIE-” 

Madzie spun around. She met the eyes of what Benny had slammed into and she felt like she was going to throw up right there because there wasn’t just one of them. No, there were more and they were surrounded by them. 

They were corpses. They were surrounded by corpses. They weren’t the spirits they’d been trying to call to wreak playful havoc on their city. They weren’t even ghosts. They were bodies. They were rotting, decaying corpses looking like they’d been plucked right from the grave and placed around them. 

The worst part of it wasn’t even the sight of them though. The worst part was that they were standing there, watching them. They were sentient. They were thinking. Their eyes followed them. They moved, trying to make their way towards them, making the most horrible pained noises.

The one closest to them, the one Benny had slammed into, reached for her through the dark, it’s hand stretching blindly, that horrible whimpering sound it made echoing through Madzie’s head. It was a whimper of pleading and confusion. It was a whimper of pain. 

Madzie tightened her hand on Benny’s and she finally moved. She turned and ran, pulling Benny behind her as they ran into the thickets of the trees, leaving the field far behind them. As they caught their breath and as Benny wiped the tears away from his face with his unbroken hand, something occurred to Madzie.

That thing hadn’t been Max. So, where was he?

Magnus spun on his heels towards the sound of someone in the crowded party calling his name. He met the face of a vampire he knew he should remember and his eyes latched onto the shot she held in her hand. Magnus didn’t need to remember her to accept the alcohol. 

He reached out for it and swallowed it down in one swift motion, grinning at the cheers that rose around him. Everyone was so excited at the sight of someone else's drinking. Magnus raised his hand in a sweeping, reckless motion and conjured drinks for everyone around him.

He’d kept good on his goal to cut down on drinking. He really had. Even if the alcohol didn’t affect him quite as strongly as it did when he hadn’t had his magic, he still wanted to stop relying on it as a crutch. It really wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism. He was a social drinker now and this was the most social event he’d had all year. With the meetings, their new cat and the talks of children, Magnus imagined this would be his last chance to drink like this for a while.

He’d go back to abstaining after tonight but for now- Magnus reached out and plucked another shot from someone’s hands. He missed this, even if he was a little ashamed to admit it. He wouldn’t trade his time with Alec for any one of the wild parties he’d had in the past but this, feeling like he was the king of his domain and knowing his husband was somewhere behind him, enjoying himself? Well, Magnus could appreciate that.

Speaking of Alexander- Magnus spun around again, his eyes scanning the crowded room for his husband. He frowned when he failed to find him. 

Magnus pushed forward, moving through the masses of bodies, brushing against people, feeling the sweat and the heat on him as he scanned the room for his husband. Everyone had been here for a while and the party was only growing rowdier. Magnus had a feeling that he knew exactly where his husband would have retreated to, needing a moment of quiet after so long.

He made his way to the balcony and grinned as he caught sight of Alec standing with his back to the glass doors, leaning against the railing. He was talking to someone but Magnus didn’t even glance over to try and see who.

Magnus slipped out the door quietly. Alec heard him coming but he didn’t turn around. Magnus could see the curve of Alec’s soft, pleased smile as he came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his husband’s chest. “You disappeared on me.” Magnus murmured, pressing his lips to the skin on Alec’s neck.

Alec turned slowly to face him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He mimicked his kiss with a soft press of his lips to Magnus’ cheek. “You seemed to be having a good time and you know, I’m not exactly one for dancing.” Alec nodded his head to the side of them and just then, Magnus remembered that Alec had been talking to someone. He’d been so captivated by the mere sight of him that he’d forgotten.

“Lorenzo kept me company.” 

Magnus leaned into Alec’s side, turning to look at Lorenzo. He had to have gotten here recently. Magnus hadn’t seen him come in. He’d just been thinking that maybe, he wasn’t going to show up at all. “You came,” Magnus said mildly. His mouth curved into a soft smile. He was happy to see him. It had been a while since they’d talked in person, without the formal air of a meeting between them. “How’s New York?” He asked. 

Lorenzo smiled back. “Good.” He said, waving his drink forward. He looked out to the streets which held more people than the nights here usually did but far less than the busy crowded walkways that New York would hold tonight. “Perhaps a bit more exciting.” He admitted, smirking as he turned to look back at Magnus again. 

It was still a game between them. Now that they both had the same position, it was all a game of who had more on their plate at any given time. “I might have to leave early to go take care of it but you know how that is.” Lorenzo was pushing his buttons. Once, him saying something like that would have infuriated him but there was nothing but goodwill between them now.

Magnus could have played along but he was feeling a bit too much emotion to really get annoyed. He nodded. “Quieter than New York.” He admitted. “It might be the first Halloween in a decade I’m not called away to deal with something catastrophic.” Magnus inclined his head towards Lorenzo. “Unless you need help, of course.” 

His offer was mocking but it was also an honest one. He didn’t want to be called away from his party but he knew how Halloween nights in New York could be. Lorenzo smirked. He’d been just about to reply when as if on cue, Magnus felt something that made him straighten up. His hand tensed where it was on Alec. A cold flush of sobriety came over him like the snap of a spell. 

Something odd happened too, something Magnus wasn't used to except in moments of peril. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He repressed the urge to shiver at the feeling of it. 

An explosion of magic moved over them. For a moment, the lights in their home flickered. The loud party hushed as they all felt it or at least saw the lights and then, when nothing happened, the noise of the party came back again as everyone assumed it was nothing. 

Magnus knew enough to know that it wasn’t nothing. He felt sick to his stomach, not for any fault of his own. His body was fine-tuned for dark magic and knew without a doubt that that was what he felt. It left the taste of burnt toast and ash in his mouth: a sharp taste, like the twinge of fire in a pixie stick. 

Magnus tasted something else too. He tasted something old and familiar, something he hadn’t tasted in a very long time. It was something that reminded him of a friend that was long gone. Magnus didn’t have long to ponder it.

“What was that?” Alec asked. He’d stepped closer to Lorenzo. His hand was still around Magnus, his other at the weapon on his belt. He was focused on Magnus. Lorenzo was a friend though and Alec had placed himself between them, like he could protect them both, like he needed to. 

Magnus would have found it charming under different circumstances.

Lorenzo looked over to him, wide-eyed and a little breathless. “You should have knocked on wood.” He murmured.

A moment later, Catarina Loss came bursting through the balcony doors and all four of them watched bonelessly as the demon towers powering the wards that protected their city- _ Magnus’ _ city- flicker and then went completely dark. 

It was a bit rude of Cat to show up to Magnus’ wonderful party just as everything went to shit but Magnus supposed he could forgive her, given the circumstances. 

Max’s eyes fluttered open. His head was pounding in his skull and his vision was spinning. It took a few long moments for him to even realize he was laying flat on the ground, outside somewhere in the dark. 

He couldn’t remember anything. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there or what had happened. All he remembered someone screaming and now, the silent forest around him felt wrong. 

Max moved and a shooting pain went up his side. He gasped and reached down, pulling his stele- Alec’s stele- out of his side. It came away covered in his own blood. Max pulled himself up onto one of his elbows and he reached around, scrawling a quick Iratzi on his uninjured side before trying to pull himself to his feet.

He must have hit his head hard. Even the stars didn’t look right as Max glanced up. He reached his hand up slowly and felt the blood-soaked wound that matting his hair. He couldn’t feel anything but the blood and the pain it brought when he touched it. 

Max slipped the stele back into his pocket, not bothering to wipe his own blood off of it. He pulled himself to his feet, stumbling on a hurt side and a pounding headache. He walked forward but he only made it a few feet before he saw something that made him stop. 

There was someone standing in the dark a few yards away from him. It was facing away but something about the silhouette of it made Max stop. He didn’t want to keep moving forward but he needed help. He should have said something. He should have asked who was there but he stayed silent.

Something about the sight of it made Max feel sick in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to turn away. He wanted to turn back but for some reason, Max couldn’t let himself turn away either. He wanted to know what it was. Slowly, he forced himself to take a step forward. The thing didn’t react, so Max took another step forward. 

A mundane phrase flashed through Max’s head but he couldn’t quite remember how it went. Something about a cat. 

Max took another step forward and found himself standing only a foot away from it. A smell hit him as he breathed in. It almost made him gag with how strong it was. It reminded him of that time he’d found a dead deer with Jace. A Seelie had attacked it and ripped it’s throat out but Max only remembered being bothered by the smell after the thing had sat out in the summer heat for two days. The smell reminded him of death. 

The creature turned suddenly. Maybe, Max’s breathing had alerted it but Max didn’t have long to think about it. The creature turned towards him and Max knew all of a suddenly why it reminded him of the deer. It looked like it too. The thing was rotting like it had been dead for months. 

Max remembered suddenly what had happened. It was Halloween, the spell, Benny screaming. 

Max wanted to scream himself but the noise didn’t make its way up his throat. He stood there frozen as the thing moved towards him, its mouth hanging open, rotting enough that it couldn’t be held in place anymore. 

The thing reached out for him, it’s decaying hand falling onto Max’s shoulder. He jumped back then, almost falling as he scrambled to getaway. The creature's hand tensed on him and as Max yanked himself away, it came completely free of its body with a sickening snapping sound. 

Max flailed and push the hand away from him. He screamed then, unable to help himself. He turned to run blindly into the dark and ran right into the chest of something else. It smelled exactly like the other creature had, like death and rot, but when Max pushed it away and looked up, he didn’t meet the face of another rotting corpse like he’d expected. 

He looked up and he saw whole skin and the face of a man he’d never met before. Something was off about his skin but in the dark, Mac couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The man grabbed him and pulled him just in time for Max to look back and realize the creature he’d ran from was still coming after him. 

“Come on.” The man said, not letting go of Max as he pulled him away. His voice was hoarse and rough like he hadn’t spoken in a long time. The man’s empty hand flared with weak magic as he pushed the dead creature away from them. 

_ A warlock _, Max thought with relief. He had never met him or even heard of another warlock living so close but Max relaxed anyway. Magnus had to know him. Cat too. Whoever it was, he was helping and he needed help. 

Max wondered how grounded they’d be later. He wondered if Alec would feel bad that he was hurt and lessen his sentence. 

He wondered if Benny and Madzie were okay, wherever they were. 

The warlock pulled Max into a cabin that was out into the woods, one that Max hadn’t even known was there. People didn’t live out in the woods this far and yet, the cabin was here. It was old and it looked abandoned. The weeds around it were overgrown. It looked like no one had touched it in years. 

The door creaked as the warlock pulled it open and pushed Max inside. He snapped his fingers once, twice and then finally a lantern on the wall lit the room in soft orange hues. In the light, Max could see what he hadn’t in the dark. 

The warlock was covered in dirt but under it all, Max could see that his skin was green. The warlock had horns on its head but one of them looked like it had been broken right off. Max thought for a moment, trying to remember if he knew of any warlocks with green skin and horns. 

He didn’t.

The man turned to him in the cabin, his eyes scanning Max’s injuries. He reaches out and his hand lit in soft warm magic. It washed over him and the pain in Max’s head and his side disappeared instantly. When he was healed, the warlock turned suddenly and darted down the hallway further into the cabin, leaving Max standing there.

Max stood for a moment before darting after him. “Who are you?” He demanded before speaking again as he realized how rude that sounded after the warlock had just helped him. “Uh- Thank you for healing me.” 

The warlock walked into what looked like it used to be the living room before walking over to a bookcase. He dug through it, not turning back to look at Max as he spoke. “What did you and your friends do?” He asked as he pulled a book of the self and brushed the dust off it. 

“Uh, we were- It’s Halloween, we were trying to…” Max trailed off for a second, watching the warlock rip a page out of the book. He turned almost maniacally, grabbing a pen off the desk that was next to him. He scribbled but the old pen was empty. He tried two more times before he found one that worked. “We were trying to summon spirits but I guess it went wrong.” 

The warlock laughed at that. “Yeah, I guess so. Your friends, are they still out there?” 

Max nodded, watching as the warlock wrote something on a piece of paper and then let it burn away. “I think so.” He’d sent a fire message. Max wondered to who. “I think they’re hurt.” 

The warlock turned to him and brushed a hand through his messy, dirty gray hair. “The bodies you raised won’t hurt them. They’re just suffering and frightening but they’re not harmful.” He spoke quickly. Something about him was frantic but he was confident in what he was saying. Max believed him but maybe he was just thankful to hear his friends weren’t in danger. 

He hoped they knew that, wherever they were now. Hopefully, they’d found their way back to town and run into Magnus or Cat, both preferably. 

Madzie shoved the stick into Benny’s good hand, using her own to tighten his hand around it and make him grip it tight. She stared at him, her expression serious. Benny had always been the baby of their group. He was the sweet one. He was the one that needed protection. He was the cute, hesitant one. 

Now wasn’t the time for sweet and hesitant. Their lives were on the line and Max’s was as well, wherever he was. Benny needed to grow up quick. Madzie contemplated if slapping him would be too much but she took a look at his soft baby cheeks and didn’t think she could do it. 

Unless he didn’t harden up quick enough. Then slapping would still be on the table. 

Benny gripped the stick with his good hand and his healed but misshapen one. He stared at her with wide horrified eyes. He looked like he was ready to piss himself. 

“We need to find Max.” Madzie said. There was no opening of a discussion in her tone. She was telling Benny exactly what would happen now and Benny nodded even with his frightened eyes. He seemed thankful Madzie seemed to know what was going on. Madzie was thankful she’d learned to bluff at a young age. “And in the meantime, we’re going to kill those things out there.” 

Madzie pointed out to the unseen clearing they’d fled from as she said it. The creatures didn’t seem to be coming after them but that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. That just meant they were smart. Perhaps, even they could see the hard look in her eyes and the power in her hands. That’s what she told herself anyway. More realistically, they just couldn’t follow that fast.

“Okay?” Madzie snapped. She was impatient but her tone implied that she was actually asking. 

It was a loaded question. What she really meant was, _ do you understand? _ She also meant, _ tell me you aren’t going to mess this up and get killed. Tell me you can do this. Tell me I’m not going to be the reason that something bad happens to you, please because I don’t know if I can take having another person's blood on my hands, not because of a stupid Halloween prank. Tell me Max is okay. _

Benny swallowed. “Okay.” 

Madzie tightened her grip on Benny’s clasped hands for a moment before she let go. “Okay.” She echoed. She hoped they would be. She _ knew _ they would be. She’d make it that way. 

Besides, no one died on Halloween, not really. That was another thing she told herself, even though she knew it wasn’t true.

Magnus threw open a portal. It lit their balcony in shimmering hues of purple. A few people glanced over from inside but Magnus didn’t blame them for not looking over twice. It almost looked like a Halloween decoration and besides, almost everyone was drunk by now and it was better no one panicked. 

Alec came through the balcony doors again, his bow now slung over his shoulder. He and Cat were going to try to get the Demon Towers back to their former functioning glory before the entire city was mobbed. It would take the demons a little while to notice the wards were down but once they did, the smarter of the demonic batch would lead the dumber right into the city. 

Demon’s flew to fallen wards like moths to a lamp and they’d really be screwed if their city was destroyed tonight. Magnus could just imagine how that Clave meeting would go. It would start a riot that could undo all the work they’d done to even get here, to get Magnus here, to get Catarina and Madzie, to even have this party with so many downworlder attendees inside the city walls.

Lorenzo and Magnus were going to investigate whatever it was that had been powerful enough to do all of that and, though no one had said it out loud, to go get the kids. They all knew they had to be behind this and with a blast of magic that powerful, god knows what they’d managed to do out there.

Magnus just hoped everyone was okay. He’d never forgive himself if one of them got hurt because he’d trusted them a little too much. He was lenient on them because he remembered all the stupid fun things he’d done when he was younger. Perhaps he’d forgotten how many times he’d come close to dying for those same stupid dumb things. 

Alec leaned forward and pressed a quick hasty kiss against his lips. They stared at each other for a moment like they wanted to say something but there was no time and besides, what could they say anyway? ‘Stay safe,’ like anything else was an option? ‘I love you,’ like they didn’t already know that? 

Alec pursed his lips. “Don’t let anyone die.” He said after a moment.

Magnus couldn’t help but smile. His husband, as blunt as always. Magnus nodded. “You too.” He looked over at Cat who had appeared behind Alec. “Don’t let my husband do anything stupid.” He called, smirking as he said it. 

“We don’t have time for flirting.” Cat responded. It was true, they didn’t but Magnus could see the small smile on her face among all the worry. She could never quite pretend to be as annoyed with him as she wanted, not when it had to do with Alec. She was happy he was happy. Any trace of that smile disappeared after a second though. 

Their kids were out there. They really didn’t have time. 

Magnus grabbed Lorenzo by the arm and pulled him through the portal with him. 

Madzie and Benny charged back into the field. Madzie expected Benny’s to chicken out at the last second but as they reached the first corpse, Madzie was shocked as Benny sank his stick deep into the creature’s chest before stumbling back. 

His eyes were terrified but there was something else there, something else that was so terrified that he’d summoned the courage to actually do something about it. 

Madzie had to admit she was proud. Benny stared at his stick, now lodged in the creature’s chest and he turned to find another one before Madzie got an idea. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping none of the creatures came to attack her and a moment later she opened her eyes to see that she was holding an arrow. She’d been trying to find the knife she’d lost earlier, the one she’d used to cut Benny’s palm but this would work too. 

Madzie shrugged and handed it over to Benny, who blinked at it like he’d never seen one before. Madzie half expected Benny not to take it but after a moment, he did. She watched his hands tighten with it in his grip and she grinned.

Who knew he’d been a natural-born killer.

Benny was terrified. He’d never killed anything in his entire life and his arm was starting to hurt more and more as the minutes wore on but he didn’t want Madzie to think he was weak, so he pushed through. He kept reminding himself that if they managed to kill all of them, they’d find Max and then he could go home.

Madzie had managed to kill five of the corpses. Benny had gotten three, so he thought he was doing a pretty good job at covering up how absolutely terrified he was. His method of killing them was also a lot cleaner than Madzie’s. She’d taken to blowing them up. 

Madzie said it was almost fun. It was like target practice, except their friend was missing, Benny’s arm was broken and they were all going to be grounded for life. Benny had never been grounded before. He’d also never done whatever the hell it was they’d done tonight, so it was a night full of firsts.

Madzie spun on another one, exploding it. Benny turned and jumped at another one he saw behind it when he felt a hand snap out to stop the arrow before it reached its flesh. Benny looked up and found the face of Magnus Bane, covered in zombie guts from Madzie’s recent attack, staring down at him. 

That was the most terrifying sight he’d seen all night. For a moment, Benny honestly thought that Magnus was about to kill him and then a piece of burning paper fluttered down into Magnus’ hands before he could say anything and he seemed a little distracted.

Benny had no clue where it had come from but he was thankful Magnus let go of his hand and looked away long enough for him to try and catch his breath.

Max sat with his hands folded in his lap, watching the warlock pace furiously between the dusty windows, peering out each one for a quick moment before stalking to the other and looking out it again. He was waiting for something but Max wasn’t particularly sure what. He was a little scared to ask. 

Max had started to get a weird feeling about this warlock. Now that he had a moment to really sit and think about it, it was weird that Max didn’t know who he was. Max thought he had met every warlock living in Idris and even beyond that, he should have at least heard of him. 

Yet, he hadn’t. 

This warlock was just _ weird _ too. He’d asked Max what year it was. Who didn’t know what year it was? He was _ dirty _ too. How had he gotten so covered in dirt? Max had thought maybe it happened in the blast but even he didn’t look that bad. 

Max slowly rose to his feet, the old chair he was sitting in scraping against the ground as it slide back. “Well, thank you for the tea.” Max said a little awkwardly. His eyes flickered to the front door and then back to the warlock who turned suddenly as he spoke. “I should really go see where my friends are though and uh- maybe, find someone to help with the…” 

The warlock blinked at him. 

Max coughed. He really wasn’t good at this. “The ah- dead, things out there.”

The warlock pressed his lips, looking displeased- or maybe thoughtful? “Yeah.” He said after a moment had passed. “I suppose you should.” He spun suddenly, moving to peer out the window again, his dirtied hands clasped in front of him. 

Max took a couple of steps towards the door and then hesitated. He looked back and stared for another long moment before opening his mouth. “What’s your name?” He asked. Max wasn’t even sure why he wanted to know. Perhaps it was because of the weird feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when he looked at him. 

The warlock turned to stare at him again, his green skin reflecting in the dull moonlight that was coming from the open window he’d stilled in front of. “Ragnor.” He said. 

Max nodded. He wanted to bolt right out the door now that he knew what he wanted but again, something made him pause. “Max.” He offered. “Maxwell Lightwood.” Max stood there for another moment and then waved before he turned and ran into the dark.

Outside, Max reached for Benny’s flashlight in his pocket. He pulled it out and when he clicked the button, it lit in his hands instantly. It took a few moments for Max to realize exactly why that was odd. 

Max clicked the flashlight off just because it freaked him out. He slid it back into his pocket and pulled out his witchlight. It was probably nothing anyway. Maybe somewhere, the Clave had been working on the wards and technology, more specifically allowing them to work together. 

It _ was _ possible, technically. 

Alec and Catarina reached the top of the main tower in a matter of ten minutes. When they were dealing with demons, they really had no time to spare. They were both worried about the kids, Alec was worried about how exactly he’d explain this all after but they had no time to dwell on any of it. They had to get the wards back up as soon as they possibly could and hope that nothing had managed to get inside the cities walls while they’d been down.

Getting the wards back up turned out to be relatively easy. Whatever had happened had just been powerful enough to knock them down, so restarting them was as simple as flipping the breaker again. They both heard them roar back to life, the noise echoing around the tiny room at the top of the translucent building. It would take a minute before they were completely online again but they were up. 

They made their way back down relatively satisfied with the situation. They’d done their job. Now, they could go make sure everyone was okay. When they reached the bottom of the tower though, Alec realized they hadn’t quite managed to get them up in time. 

Alec saw a demon. It was an Achaieral demon, one of the quicker more intelligent demons of the bunch. Its wings let it shoot through the air and it’s pitch black body made it almost invisible in the night.

They weren’t the hardest to take down but they were anything but trivial. They were nothing like their dumb shax demon cousins and if there was one here, there were bound to be a couple more all across the city. Alec pulled his bow off his back and slide an arrow into it.

The demon turned as it noticed him, charging forward on its thin reptilian feet as it skittered towards him, claws extended. Alec took in a breath and pulled the string back. The arrow shot out and Alec’s shoulders relaxed as he saw the arrow right on target. Alec hadn’t imagined that right before the arrow sunk into the demon’s head, it would disappear altogether. 

Alec’s eyes widened. He stumbled back and moved for his stele but he didn’t have enough time to react. The demon came down on him and then suddenly, the creature was thrown across the street. It crashed into the brick of the building next door. 

Alec looked up to see Catarina standing over him. He wanted to thank her but neither of them had time for any of that because Alec could see people coming outside. They’d noticed the towers down, the demon, the fighting, something. Maybe they'd even noticed the other demon at the top of the road, coming towards the noise of it’s injured brethren.

Catarina pulled Alec to his feet and he sucked in another deep breath. He rounded his shoulders and tried to summon his best Alexander Lightwood-Bane, Counsel of the Clave voice. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t some stupid kid about to get scolded. This was his city. These people obeyed him and it was his job to protect them and right now, they were looking to him with confusion and fright.

“Happy Halloween.” Alec finally said. He grimaced even as it came out of his mouth but he didn’t have time to dwell on his poor social skills because he knocked another arrow back and launched it at the demon that was skittering towards them. Catarina was taking care of the one she’d thrown behind him and thankfully, this time Alec’s arrow didn’t disappear. Things were looking up, relatively.

Magnus stared down at the piece of paper in his dirty, damp hand and he found himself unable to breathe. Everything in his chest ceased. It had to be some sort of joke or a trick but Magnus knew even just looking at it that there was only one person who could have written this. It wasn’t a mockery. It wasn’t someone copying him. 

Ragnor Fell had written this note and that didn’t make any sense at all because Ragnor was long dead. The note was simple and straight to the point: 

‘_You can’t have a single holiday without bringing something back to life, can you? What the fucks happened since I was gone? Come get me at the cabin, I feel like I'm going to throw up and I need a drink._’

He’d signed it but it was in slightly different handwriting, one that was messier, as if he’d been about to send it and then signed it as an afterthought as if Magnus wouldn’t have been able to tell who it was by his handwriting and his words alone.

‘_Ragnor fucking Fell, currently covered in dirt with the headache of a century. Hurry up._’

Magnus couldn’t really argue with that. Magnus tried to clear his head a little to think about exactly what he was going to do. His hands were shaking but they still had a situation here. Magnus looked down at Benny, with the arrow still clasped in his hands, staring at Magnus like he expected Magnus to eat him.

His arm was hurt bad. Magnus couldn’t leave him. “Madzie, stay with Lorenzo and take care of the rest of these-” Magnus waved his hand towards the few stragglers around them. “I’m going to take Benny.” Magnus looked between the two of them for a moment, “Where’s Max?” He asked finally realizing they were still missing one. 

He was met with two unanimous shrugs. He tried to hold back the sigh. 

When Magnus turned around, he and Lorenzo made eye contact for a moment. He looked confused, concerned and curious at all once. He had to have read the note over Magnus’ shoulder. Magnus opened his mouth to say something and then he shook his head. He didn’t even know what to say. 

“Look out for Max.” He said finally before he took Benny’s uninjured hand and started to walk him towards the cabin he hadn’t been to in years. After a few moments of silence, Magnus looked down at Benny again, frowning. “Is that my husband’s arrow?”

Benny choked and stammered to respond. Magnus knew he was intimidating but he really hadn’t thought he’d been that scary. Magnus waved him off before he could panic even more. “Nevermind.” He said. “I’m sure he has more.” 

Magnus had practically lived in Ragnor’s cabin (both of them living illegally of course, in a time when warlocks weren’t allowed in the city at all) but in the dark, covered in sludge Magnus was too shaken to even think about getting rid of, finding the cabin was like trying to stumble to the end of a maze, except the maze was invisible and everywhere they turned, there were just more trees that looked exactly like the other trees.

“Are we lost?” Benny had asked. 

“No.” Magnus had told him. Except, they were lost. They were really lost. 

Finally, Magnus groaned and let go of Benny’s hand to close his eyes. He focused on the cabin. He thought about every memory he’d had there. He thought about Ragnor. He thought about the note and he tried to let his mind follow it back to where he wanted to go. The magic had just started to swell in his hands when Magnus heard a familiar voice yell, “Magnus!” Before a warm body came crashing into his chest. 

Magnus’ eyes flew open and when he looked down, he saw Max Lightwood clinging to him. The story he was told over the next few minutes was a hectic one. They’d been trying to summon some spirits, the explosion, the book. When Max told him about the warlock though, everything seemed to click into place.

Ragnor was alive because they’d brought him back to life. He wasn’t just magically alive still. He hadn’t fooled everyone with his death. He had really been dead and now, he wasn’t anymore.

Magnus wanted to be excited but there were a lot of ways bringing someone back to life could go terribly wrong. Magnus thought of Ragnor looking like any one of those poor corpses out there. “Can you bring us back to the cabin?” Magnus asked. 

Max blinked. “Yeah.” He turned and pointed into the dark. “It’s like ten feet right there.” Magnus looked up, strained to see into the dark and sure enough, he could see the outline of a small abandoned building in front of them and he could see someone standing in the doorway, looking out at them.

Max sat with Benny at the dusty table he’d been sat at before. He quickly realized that he had no clue what was going on anymore. Magnus had healed Benny’s arm as much as he could, though it would still need to be reset later, and now he was in the other room with his dirty friend, talking lowly about things that didn’t make much sense.

Magnus hadn’t ever mentioned having a dirty, hermit friend before but then again, Magnus knew a lot of people. Max was thinking that they hadn’t seen each other in a long time because Magnus was worried about him. He’d fussed over him with his magic, checking every inch of his body like he was expecting to find something horrible. At the end, he’d looked relieved. 

Max was just thinking about when they’d be able to go home. Magnus said Madzie was with Lorenzo and she was fine but Max wasn’t exactly happy not being with her. They’d been in this together and it seemed like all night, at least one of them had been gone. Max looked over to Benny, tightening his grip on his hand as he whispered quietly, “Do you think you could get us back to Madzie?” 

Benny frowned but after a moment, he nodded. It looked like he wanted to protest but when Max stood up and lead them both to the door, he followed without comment. They’d done enough tonight. They really couldn’t get into any more trouble and maybe Benny felt what Max did. 

They’d spent enough time apart. They needed to go find Madzie and when they got there and Max got to join in killing the corpses? Well, that was just an added bonus. Magnus and his dirty warlock friend found them soon enough anyway.

It was only an hour later when they all found themselves finally back at Magnus and Alec’s house. The whole house was a complete mess in the aftermath of the party they’d left. There were a couple of people asleep or passed out all around the house but for the most part, everyone seemed to have cleared out before they’d made it back. 

They also learned that apparently, their little stunt had managed to knock down the wards. Alec and Catarina had taken care of it, the demons that had gotten in and managed to get everyone to calm down and go home but Alec said it wasn’t over. Everyone had noticed the wards going down and a more in-depth explanation would have to be given. Alec wasn’t very excited about that but thankfully, no one had died. Technically, they’d brought a bunch of dead people back to life (who knew the Clave had buried people out there before their burning rituals had started?). So, they’d done the opposite of let someone die. 

They’d, of course, had to kill all the corpses they’d reanimated but, same difference. Alec said maybe they’d keep that aspect of what happened out of the conversation when they went to talk to the Clave. 

Max still wasn’t sure what was up with Magnus’ weird friend but Catarina had cried when she’d seen him and Alec had looked like he thought he was seeing things. Max could dig into it later, he supposed. It wasn’t important tonight.

What was important was the fact that Benny’s arm had to be rebroken on Halloween. They’d waited for his mother to get there to do anything about it. When she’d come in, Max was sure she’d be furious at Madzie and him but she’d just hugged them both and murmured that she was so happy they were okay. 

She’d gone into the spare bedroom where Benny was and they’d all tried to block out the sounds of Benny screaming. Catarina had tried to stop him from feeling pain but he was a werewolf. His system burned through the magic quickly. 

When she was finished and Benny’s mom finally came out of the room to talk to Alec and Magnus, Madzie and him and snuck in. Benny was bundled up on the bed. He was half asleep when they’d walked in but he opened his eyes to look at them and he smiled. His arm was completely healed now and there was no evidence of how much pain he’d been in a few minutes before, except for how tired he looked. 

Max was sure they were all exhausted. 

Madzie and him wordlessly crawled into the bed with Benny, tucking themselves into the blanket around him. Madzie pulled some candy out of her pockets that she’d snuck from the kitchen and they’d all giggled like five-year-olds. A few minutes later, Chairman came rushing into the room. Max freed him of his bat costume and as a reward, he’d curled up on the bed with them.

Tomorrow, Max was sure they’d be in a lot of trouble. Tonight had gone far from how they planned but all things considered, everything was okay. 

They were all alright. The adults seemed a little too distracted to yell at them tonight and they were warm and safe, together. Also, Max had remembered exactly what Lily had said and he’d kept her name out of it when he’d told Magnus what happened, so he’d managed not to make an enemy of the New York Vampire Clan.

It was far from a perfect Halloween but things were pretty good and next year when Max came back from the Academy, they’d just have to redeem themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! 
> 
> Feel free to come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/Teethontheside) or [tumblr](https://facialteeth.tumblr.com/) or leave your thoughts here!


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